Dressed to Kill: The Link Between Breast Cancer and Bras (ISBN 0895296640)

Amazon.com Review:
Singer and Grismaijer have collected striking (but preliminary) evidence that bra-wearing may be a major risk factor associated with breast cancer: women who wear tight-fitting bras 24 hours a day are 125 times more likely to have breast cancer than women who do not wear bras at all. Their interpretation is that tight clothing inhibits the proper functioning of the lymphatic system (an internal network of vessels and nodes that flushes wastes from the body) and leads to a buildup of carcinogenic compounds in the constricted areas. Although it must be emphasized that their studies are preliminary, still controversial, and definitely need to be followed up with detailed analyses of correlative factors (do these women have higher rates of smoking? do they have less-healthy diets?), this book should be read by anyone concerned about breast cancer. Possibly a very important book that could save many lives.

How do the experts know?:
The experts and institutions all dismiss the idea that bra wearing leads to cancer but how do they know or what is their basis for saying that? Can you know anything without a study? And admitedly they don't know what causes it,but they know it isn't bras. Singer is faulted for lack of rigor in his study. It's just a beginning survey. How would you get funded for a more expanded study? His method was very simple and elegant. He took a large group of women and asked them how many hours a day they spent wearing a bra and found that it was related to the number that developed breast cancer. Those that seldom or never wore one, seldom developed cancer, whereas those who wore one 24/7, a majority developed cancer. Those who wore one for a lessor amount of time had an intermediate rate. Sure there are contaminating factors but they tend to cancel out in large group studies. This reminds me of the old studies relating the packs of cigarettes smoked per day to the likelyhood of developing lung cancer. The problem is that although many women would like to play it safe and comfortable they like the up-lift bras give them and worry it will make them sag eventually to go without one. There may be a solution to both these concerns. A Japanese study found that going braless did not produce sagging beasts but actually produced more perkiness. And if a bra is worn to work only but taken off around the house, there is only a slight increase in breast cancer. Singer writes,"...women who wear bras twenty-four hours a day have a 125-fold greater chance of getting breast cancer than do women who do not wear bras at all and a 113-fold greater chance of getting breast cancer than do women who wear bras for less than twelve hours daily. This is anywhere from 4 to 12 times greater in significance than the connection between cigarette smoking and lung cancer!"(p.127). Singer argues that bras excert their harmful effect through tightness which prevents the flow of the lymphatic fluid from clearing toxins from the breasts.

What a difference 12 hours can make. . . . . .:
I had this book in my going to purchase file for several years. After I read the book, I couldn't believe how long it took me to make this purchase. The information presented is not redundant from my point of view. I have never heard of this particular viewpoint in regards to breast cancer. The author gives a glimse of their own journey and research. And when you think about all the information that they present, it actually makes sense. To sum it up . . . This book is about a couple finding out about cancer and the decisions they had to make to save a life and what they chose to do about the information obtained along the way of their journey of healing. It was their personal quest to research breast cancer and what could be the cause that we as a society are overlooking. This book includes the results from a questionaire regarding bras usage and responses from their survey. There is an interesting emphasis on how minimal pressures on the lymphatic system is correlated to breast cancer.

Excellent Book:
I had always thought that clothes are evil. Okay, not really. But tight clothes can do evil things. This book is a well written report that does an excellent job of explaining not only why bras are probably a factor in getting breast cancer... but it goes into great detail on how the study was done, why it was done and the personal connection between the authors and the issue. Throughout the book I had about a hundred "that makes sense... what are we {as a society) thinking" moments. It delves into areas that traditional oncology studies avoid (I think withholding information is as bad as disseminating incorrect information) and it successfully furthered my belief that the traditional medical community, media and most of the rest of our society may keep information (which won't result in huge sales) hidden. If the people who control what we see and hear (which ultimately sways our lifestyle choices) will not be more socially responsible and less selfishly capital driven, we need to be more open to the possibility that our society's selfishness can kill us.

EVERYONE Should Check Out This Research!!:
This is one of few books that I have multiple copies of just to lend out to friends and family. Overall, it deals with the compression of the lymphatic system in our bodies and how this leads to the beginnings of cancer cell growth. The lymph system is what carries and gets rid of the toxins in our bodies. When various lymph nodes are compressed day in and out (by such things as bras, tight clothing, etc.) toxins are not able to be excreted as they are meant to be, and this build up of carcinogens leads to cancerous cell growth. The book includes research from various cultures - those who typically wear bras, and those who don't, as well as what happens when non-bra wearing women move to the U.S. and start wearing on a daily basis... The authors also discuss other forms of clothing-lymph constriction and cancer sites -- such as tight jeans around the abdomen/pelvis area and glasses that constrict the lymph system around the nose. Interestingly, the 3 biggest sites of cancer in the U.S. are around the breast, the abdomen/pelvic region, and around the nose. This is not seen in cultures that do not wear constrictive clothing. Granted, there are likely several factors that go into who develops, and who does not develop cancerous cell growth. However, the research presented here is empirical, sound, and more than compelling. It is a great book, easy to read, packed with data, and gives us something to really think about... The author specializes in culture-based health and wellness and is the head of a health research college in Hawaii. His wife (who is also an author of the book) suffered from cyst/tumor development in her breast after decades of bra-wearing. She treated this with natural measures - the foremost being to take off her bra! She is now cyst/tumor free. The authors discuss the myth that I have heard many women voice -- "If I don't wear a bra, won't my breasts sag?!" NO! The reverse is actually true...Just as in other parts of the body - the muscles you use are the muscles that stay firm and strong and supportive. Authors go into the physiological makeup of the breasts and breast tissue. I also highly recommend checking out The Healing Power of 8 Sugars for those interested in pro-actively warding off cancer cell growth or eliminating it from the body. This book is written by 21 top doctors in various fields of health and deals with the roles of glyconutrients and glycobiology in the body. Both books deal with the ability of our bodies' cells to clean out toxins and restore themselves, the way the body is designed to function when given what it needs to work properly - a free flowing lymphatic system and cell-to-cell communication. The Healing Power of 8 Sugars: An Amazing Breakthrough in Nutrition, Sciences and Medicine

this is one quaint cultural practice (bra wearing) that needs to end.:
Why, Why, Why? In 2008 are we still inflicting pain & suffering on goddesses with clothing torture devices. It makes sense that any clothing, shoes, glasses, underwear, headwear, etc. that resricts circulation of blood flow, lymph, etc. is going to cause problems in your human instrument. This book is a terrific resource, it would be nice if Women's groups, the medical community, cancer groups, etc. would follow up with more studies into this.